Qilaq Project Nunavut Canada
- 76,237 hectares on South Baffin Island, Nunavut Canada, 100 km northeast of Iqaluit and adjacent to the Chidliak project.
- 100% owned by Peregrine.
- 3 diamondiferous kimberlites, discovered in 2010, have been found so far.
Peregrine is exploring for diamonds on the 76,237 hectare Qilaq project, which is 100% owned by Peregrine and adjoins Chidliak to the north, east and south. A map outlining Qilaq is available at (Click here to view the location map).
2011 Exploration Program
- Discovery of Q3 kimberlite by Reverse Ciculation drilling.
- Ground magnetic geophysical surveys covering 10 anomalies.
- A 3,700 line-km airborne geophysical survey was completed in June.
2010 Exploration Program
- The diamondiferous kimberlites, Q1 and Q2, were discovered by prospecting.
- 387 KIM samples were collected.
- 23 metals anomalies, identified in 2009, were evaluated by prospecting, mapping and sampling and 476 soil samples and 120 rock samples were collected and submitted for analysis.
- A 670 line kilometre airborne geophysical survey was completed in May, representing less than 2% of Qilaq's area.
Q1 and Q2 Kimberlites
The Q1 kimberlite is characterized by a magnetic high anomaly with an estimated diameter of 150 metres, associated with a topographic depression that measures approximately 60 metres by 50 metres. The 62.7 kilogram sample announced on October 6, 2010, represented all the competent kimberlite that could be readily located on the surface within the anomaly and yielded 38 diamonds larger than 0.106 mm sieve size including one diamond larger than the 0.600 mm sieve size.
The Q2 kimberlite is located approximately four kilometres south of Q1 and outside of the limits of the 2010 airborne geophysical survey. Two kimberlite outcrops, and numerous cobbles and boulders, were discovered within a surface depression that is more than 80 metres in diameter. A 241.5 kilogram sample from Q2 yielded 253 diamonds larger than 0.106 mm, including three diamonds larger than 0.600 mm. A 0.05 carat diamond from this sample larger than the 1.180 mm sieve size has been classified by the SRC as a white/colourless, transparent distorted crystal.
Metals Anomalies
The 2010 program included successful metals follow-up work related to a site where a 2009 till sample contained 350 gold grains, with 80 percent of those grains described by the Overburden Drilling Management laboratory, responsible for processing the samples, as being "pristine", suggesting they have been transported only a short distance. A rock sample collected less than 50 metres north of this site returned 0.58 grams per tonne gold and an altered rock sample associated with a gossan approximately three kilometres to the north returned 3.1 grams per tonne silver and 112 ppb palladium. Three soil samples in this area returned the following values: (1) 183 ppb gold, 2,196 ppb silver and 2.47 ppm tellurium, (2) 7,079 ppb silver and 162 ppb palladium, and (3) 3,046 ppb silver and 123 ppb palladium. In another target area, a till sample collected in 2009 returned 45 gold grains, 40 grains of sperrylite (a platinum mineral, PtAs2) and 2,060 grains of hercynite (an iron spinel). Eleven of the gold grains were classified as pristine. Additionally, the till geochemistry from a soil sample collected in 2010 one kilometre from the till sample with the sperrylite and gold grains returned 91 ppb palladium.
Exploration History
The geologic features of Qilaq and its proximity to Chidliak make this new project an ideal diamond exploration target. Of particular interest is the geologic interpretation that Qilaq and Chidliak are underlain by the same ancient Archean bedrock. Most of the world's major diamond deposits are hosted in similar geologic environments.
In the summer of 2009, 516 samples were collected to evaluate the Qilaq permit area for its diamond potential. Till and stream sediment samples were collected on a five by five kilometre grid. After analysing the results from the 516 samples, Peregrine chose to acquire four new prospecting permits and relinquish 29 permits, making the new area of Qilaq approximately 854,000 hectares (8,540 square kilometres) in 61 prospecting permits.
Seven of the 516 samples collected at Qilaq returned at least one probe-confirmed KIM. Of particular note was one sample that returned 405 KIMs as follows: 370 ilmenites, 16 p-type pyrope garnets, four e-type garnets and 15 chrome diopsides. All of the 405 KIMs were angular in shape and 20 of the ilmenites and one chrome diopside were greater than one millimetre in size. Angular KIM grains larger than one millimetre are not common in till samples, and are a strong indication of a proximal source. The 16 p-type garnets were analysed by electron microprobe and one of the grains was classified as a high-chrome, low-calcium G10 garnet. G10 garnets are commonly associated with diamond mines throughout the world. One sample, collected 50 kilometres south-southeast of the sample with 405 grains, contained two p-type pyrope garnets, one ilmenite and two chromites. The remaining five samples containing KIMs returned one garnet each. The early exploration history at Chidliak, where Peregrine has discovered an important new diamond district, illustrates the potential significance of the Qilaq results. Five till samples taken in the Chidliak area in 2005 on a 15 by 15 kilometre grid returned one or more probe-confirmed KIMs, with the most positive sample containing 12 p-type garnets, 11 e-type garnets, three picroilmenites and five chrome diopsides. None of the p-type garnets from these samples were classified as G10 garnets. In 2006, 28 samples collected at Chidliak contained 265 probe-confirmed garnets, with 22, or eight percent, of them being classified as G10 garnets.
The 516 Qilaq samples were also examined for the presence of minerals that may be indicative of base or precious metals mineralization with 213 of the samples containing at least one gold grain and 31 samples containing one or more grains of sperrylite. Sperrylite is a platinum-bearing mineral (PtAs2) that is often associated with rocks that contain significant amounts of platinum, palladium and nickel. Anomalous concentrations of gold grains were found in five areas, with eight samples in these five areas each returning over 10 grains of gold. A sample in one of the anomalous areas returned 350 gold grains, with 80 percent of the grains described by the laboratory as being pristine, a possible indication of a local source. A repeat sample at the same site returned 146 gold grains. Geochemical analyses on soil from the site where the 350 gold grains were recovered returned 909 ppb gold, 2,757 ppb silver and 1,283 ppm copper. Several gossans were also noted in this area. A gossan consists of iron-bearing weathered material that can overlie a sulphide-associated deposit. A sample from another of the anomalous areas returned 40 sperrylite grains and 45 gold grains.
